Someone Out There's Watching You
by Icedshardz
Summary: AU You're James Potter, and you go to Hogwarts, the best school around. Lily Evans? No, you don't know her, and as far as you know, she doesn't exist. LJ Rated for Language and Death


**Someone Out There's Watching You**

By Icedshardz

**Disclaimer**

I don't own HP. Applies to Full Story.

**Summary**

AU You're James Potter, and you go to Hogwarts, the best school around. Lily Evans? No, you don't know her, and as far as you know, she doesn't exist. LJ

Something I thought up of. Random, I know. Strange, I know. Whatever. Enjoy!

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"Lily Evans."

The young eleven-year-old's head shot up, sending her locks of brilliant red hair flying around. Her once beautiful emerald green eyes were laden with misery, and it was clear that she had been crying for hours. Her face was white as she looked from left to right, startled at her name being called.

"Who--who's there?" she said, afraid, her voice a mere whisper. And she had every right to be, for she felt terribly out of place, being alive in such a dead world that used to be her home. But the halls that laughter had once rang through were now silent, and the shutters in her dad's old study room that flapped open and closed were now still. The food that used to be lying about in the kitchen was now cleaned away, but nothing was thrown on the floor or torn; it was just as if life had _disappeared_.

An old man came into view with his greying hair and long beard. His blue eyes sparkled behind his half-moon glasses that were on the tip of his nose. His wrinkled face did not make him appear aged, however, for he wore a gentle smile on his lips, holding his hand out for the young child.

Lily, however, shrunk away from it nervously, backing up. "Mum told me not to go with strangers," she whispered, telling herself that rule. Just because her parents were dead and her sister disappeared didn't mean that she couldn't follow Mum's strictest rules.

The old man chuckled. "That is a very good thing," he admitted, "but I will show you that I am no stranger." Lily did not believe him, eyeing him wearily. "I am Professor Dumbledore," the man said, introducing himself, "and I teach Transfiguration at a school called Hogwarts."

That did not sway Lily and she only backed away some more. "That's an awfully strange name for a school," she said, "and just as strange of a course as well." It was clear that she thought the old man mad.

But the old man did not feel offended at all; he only smiled a bit more and said, "Would you like to know what happened to your family?"

That caught her full attention. Her eyes snapped up, studying the old man's face, her eyes glistening with worry. "What?" she demanded, though her voice was still weak. "What happened to them?"

The smile soon left the old man's face and was replaced by one of worry. "Terrible work," he said to her. "Magic."

"I don't believe in magic," Lily said shortly. She'd stopped believing in it right after she stopped believing in Santa Clause; surely this man had escaped the asylum! Her fingers twitched nervously.

"You don't have to believe in something in order for it to exist," Dumbledore said. "You can tell yourself all you want that there's no such things as lemon drops, but they're candy all the same. A good thing, too; I don't know what the world would do without them."

"You're mad," Lily stated as she frowned deeply. There was something strange about this man.

"You're magic, too," Dumbledore continued, ignoring her comment. "And I have a place to offer you at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

He hesitated to see her reaction, but if he had expected any, he was sorely disappointed. Yet he couldn't blame her; to understand that her whole family was gone and that they were killed by _magic_--and that _she_ was magic, too--was something difficult to take in all in one day.

"Would you like to see?" Dumbledore offered. When Lily did not respond, he went ahead and did it, taking out a stick that he called his wand. With a wave of it in the air, birds flew out of it and flew out the open window, chirping into the clear blue sky, so lively that it contrasted greatly with the lonely house.

She was amazed by it; no magician could ever do such a trick. "Can I touch it?" she asked softly. He let her do so, and she felt the tip of the wand, and for the first time, she could _feel_ the magic pulse through the wood. "Can I get one, too?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Of course," he said. Lily smiled slightly; it was the first one she wore since her parents' death. But his face soon turned grave when he said, "In our world, though, there is war, and there are people prejudiced against those who are born of Muggle--or those who are non-magical--descent. Especially with your family gone--to which I believe is no coincidence--I would advise a different name."

Lily looked up, thinking it through. If it was no coincidence, she'd have to live through the war anyways--if she knew magic or not. Slowly, she nodded her head, and held Dumbledore's hand fast into her own, afraid to let go.

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_Seventh Year, mid-September_

"If it isn't Aria Decoy. If I didn't know better, I would have asked what you were doing up so late."

The brunette spun around, looking from left to right, her breath held in utter shock. Her heart pounded against her chest. Had she been discovered? A light blared in her direction; squinting, her eyes focused on a figure that was watching her, an amused smirk on her face.

She sniffed slightly and spat out bitterly, "It's De_Roy_, not Decoy." She tried to push her way past him, but he was larger than her and easily prevented her passing.

"Well now, where are you off to in such a hurry?" he asked, taunting her. He always seemed to know just what words to say to annoy her the most--pushing the most sensitive buttons, as she called it. He called it skill.

"It has nothing to do with you, Potter," she shot at him as she tried to swerve in the other direction, but once again, she was blocked.

He--James Potter--let out an amused chuckle, watching her flustered appearance. "Of course it has to do with me," he told her, almost chidingly. "I'm patrolling tonight, aren't I?"

She sighed, crossing her arms, shooting a harsh glare toward him. She was about to open her mouth to respond when a grandfather clock standing at the edge of the hallway caught her attention. Glancing at a time, she did a double-take, letting out an audible gasp. "Oh, damn it," she whispered, "I'm going to be late! Get out of my way, Potter!"

"Well, would you look at that! Aria De_coy_ had just cursed! I would offer my sincere congratulations if you weren't, well, _you_." He let out a triumphant grin. "Now where are you off to?"

"Shut it, Potter, I'm not in the mood," she said angrily at him, pushing against him to no avail.

"It's my job, isn't it? To catch all those wandering after hours?" he shot back at her. He knew he'd stumped her there--she was never one to question duty and propriety. In fact, she was often the person complaining about how _he_ never carried either one out, and here he was, doing just as she had told him to!

"Well, I never questioned your whereabouts during the full moons, do I?" she said, catching him off guard. He faltered slightly and she seized her chance to escape, fleeing down the hallways, something one would never catch her doing during school hours.

James watched Aria leave, cursing under his breath. How much did she know? He was surprised--no, that was an understatement--_astonished_ that she even knew anything about it. She could probably turn him and his friends any time she wanted to. He cursed again, this time a little louder, as he hurriedly skipped the remainder of his patrols and sprinted toward the Gryffindor Tower.

He slammed open his dormitory door, panting after his long run across the castle. Remus looked at him oddly. "Shouldn't you be patrolling?" he questioned.

_Trust Remus to be the one to ask that_, James thought as he closed the door behind him. "I--I have three things to tell you guys," he said, out of breath.

"Well, go on then," Sirius prompted.

"Aria DeRoy. She muttered a curse word today," James started. His heart was racing--for reasons other than his run--as he delayed in explaining the drastic situation involving walks beneath a full moon.

The response to the comment was rebellious, ringing loud in laughter and shouts. "DeRoy! Cursed? Why, I'd pay Sickles to see that!" Peter declared.

"Forget Sickles, I'm talking Galleons!" Sirius roared. "Why didn't we think to bring the Invisibility Cloak today?"

"Because patrols are normally boring," Remus said logically. "The only thing you like about it is catching couples snogging."

James found time to interrupt and introduce a more serious topic. "She rushed off today," he said over the insane laughter. "Said she had somewhere to be."

The room immediately quieted down, slow smirks spreading across their faces. They could sense trouble the moment the first word was uttered. And, as the Marauders, they knew everything about the castle, and they would make DeRoy's secret theirs.

"Why didn't you stop her?" Sirius asked suddenly. "Should've sent her into old McGonagall's room for a detention or two."

"I tried," James said, "but she caught me off guard."

"Why?" Remus said. "What did she say?"

James immediately quieted down and awkwardly looked toward the floor, muttering something inaudible to the other three Marauders. When Sirius demanded that he speak louder, only a few words were heard.

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The Marauders did not arrive to breakfast the next day, and, during lunch, they were oddly quiet. The daily ritual of taking the pink icing and writing love notes onto the cookies before tossing them at the Slytherins was not observed, and, as soon as class was over, they disappeared into their room which was coated heavily with Silencing Charms.

The following day was just as suspicious, as well as the ones following that day, and even the teachers had to admit an inkling of fear, for they were not quite as loud and disruptive as they normally were. Some assured others that this ordeal would not last long, and that they were only planning something big. After all, the last time they went into silence was followed by a triumphant prank at the Slytherin end of the Great Hall.

Others, however, would not be soothed, demanding that the reason behind it was that, at their seventh year, that they had finally matured and calmed down, a theory that the professors strongly hoped for. A few had even advanced to take their place, only to find their pillows covered in frog slime the next day morning, proving that the infamous four hadn't exactly retired yet.

The queasiest of them was Remus, who looked rather pale and, on some occasions, green. People often questioned his health and offered to help him to the Hospital Wing, but he declined and said it was only because he didn't have enough rest.

Littered in their dormitory were various pieces of parchment and scattered quills and spilled ink that had not yet been cleaned with a _Scourgify!_ On closer examination, the parchment led to vital clues of their absent behavior.

_Methods of Finding Q's Secret_

_Methods of Finding Q's Extensive (?) Knowledge_

_Map of Hogwarts_

_Moonly Schedule_

_Methods of Getting Revenge on Q_

_Why One Should Never Eat Suspicious Looking Pumpkin Pie_

Suddenly, the dormitory door opened, only to be locked again almost immediately as soon as the four were inside. They sat in their circle, gathered around their items in a serious discussion.

"I looked up information on DeRoy... I mean, Object Q today," Remus said quietly, placing a crinkled piece of parchment down. The parchment was immediately snatched up by Sirius, who read it quickly before handing it to James, who sat beside him.

"There's nothing on it," James said. "Only her birthdate and her age. Where's the rest?"

Remus sighed, shaking his head. "That's all. It took me forever, too. It was extremely suspicious, because her name was _written in_ and the information given was extremely limited--compared to the other students' records about where they lived, parents, previous education, and so on."

"Maybe her parents died at birth," Peter suggested, "and so she had nothing like that."

"And lived on the streets? Possibly," Remus agreed, "but Object Q was much too intelligent when she entered first year; she couldn't have been a street rat. If she was at an orphanage, it should have been listed."

James closed his eyes, pondering. "Do you think...?" He suddenly cut himself short. "No, that's dumb. It wouldn't be possible."

Remus sighed. "I don't know. Seems like there's more to Object Q than we thought."

"Have you noticed that she's awfully quiet on exceptionally sunny days?" Sirius suddenly piped up. "I caught her crying once or twice, because of the clear blue sky."

"That's strange," Remus commented. "Normally it would be a thunderstorm or rain that brings bad memories."

Peter nodded in agreement. "And how do you know that she was crying because of the weather? Maybe someone was bothering her or something."

Sirius grinned at this, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Remus started to get a little uncomfortable in his sitting position, watching Sirius grin like that. "Know your enemies," he said wisely. "I asked her what was wrong. She said nothing. The next time, I watched her the whole day. No one said anything offensive, and she, well, just started to cry."

"Maybe she got a letter the previous night," James suggested. "You know, something that hurt her and stuff."

Sirius only shrugged but placed his beliefs against it. Remus only watched the conversation unfold in front of him. He, himself, had never taken such a strong dislike to DeRoy as the others did. There was nothing so much glamorous about DeRoy; her hair was an ordinary brown that was straw-like with rough texture; her eyes were brown as well, though Remus swore he sometimes caught a glimmer of green in them; she had a bad case of acne that apparently just "wouldn't go away."

But she studied a lot and excelled in her studies, and for that, Remus respected her. But her attitude was something to question. Sometimes, she would be perfectly quiet, alone by herself, when other times, she could be rather rude. Occasionally, Remus was surprised when he caught her helping out some first and second years with a gentle look and a kind smile, for it was a characteristic that he thought she didn't have.

But never had any of them ever had an excuse to drive themselves to the brink of insanity, gathering up every scrap of information they could on her. Only then did they realize how well-guarded her sources were kept, and how mysterious she was. It made Remus wonder briefly if there was a reason to her solitude, to her snottiness that occurred at times. Perhaps the secret that they were prying after was a dangerous one.

No one else noticed, for they were far too into their disdain for Aria to think that she had any _reason_ to act like she did. Granted, she was one of the few who would talk back to any of them, other than Snape (with whom Remus shared loathing for). And Remus felt no need to mention his ideas of breaking it off, for fear of his friends leaving him--after his condition and all, and now with _this_.

"Remus!"

James's voice snapped Remus out of his swirling thoughts. Looking up, he frowned, telling James to continue. "Out of us four, you get along with Object Q the best. Befriend her; study with her. Get the information out."

"Hold up, there," Sirius said. "If she knows that Remus is a, well, werewolf, why would she hang out with him?" After a moment, he glanced over wearily at Remus, adding a quick, "No offense, mate." Remus acknowledged a small smile to show forgiveness.

"Considering that she hasn't run away from me _yet,_" Remus started, but James cut him off.

"He has a point," James said. After thinking it through, James declared, "Here's the plan. Tomorrow, we act normal again. We'll plan a great prank, for that's what everyone's expecting. I'll have trouble in--Charms, say, for that's her strongest subject, and ask her for help, since Remus won't, because, well..."

"Revenge," Sirius supplied. "Revenge for pranking him last year."

"Right," James said, nodding, "and I have to raise my grade up. And then I'll _befriend_ her, so call it, and I'll get her to spill. Good?"

Peter hesitated. "Won't that take an awfully long time to do, though?"

James snorted. "Best plan--and only legal plan--we've got. Come on; let's plan that prank."

And so the four got to work once more, and it was agreed. The next day morning, Regulus Black would have a woman's (enlarged) chest that set off fireworks every ten minutes.

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And so chapter one is concluded.

Tell me what you think! Please review!


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